In Pursuit of a Panther
by Eternal Assassin
Summary: The story of a Drow Assassin. PG-13 for language and gore. Not Al Gore! Please R&R!


Disclaimer: This is a Forgotten Realms fic, so sing about monkeys. That was random. I don't own the big names in this, such as Menzoberranzan and it's respective houses, as I do not own some of the characters. Ahh, to be Ed Greenwood.~cue funky dream noises~  
  
Warning: THIS IS NOT a cutesy Drizzt Do'Urden-y bad-Drow-turn- good/repentant-Drow story. This, in fact, is my response to all the people that make those stories. Sure, I love (not that way, pervert!) Drizzt too peoples, but NOT ALL DROW ARE LIKE HIM! SO, moving on..Let the funkiness begin!  
  
. . .  
  
Meet Esgiloth Oblodra. Not many people do. And the few that do see nothing but glowing red eyes. Until he is upon them.  
  
Esgiloth Oblodra was the second-born male to the union of the Cleric of Lloth, Akish, and her male consort, En-Dal. He was perpetually in the shadow of his older brother Aedian. Because of this a jealously was harbored within him, one that grew and expanded until it was an all- consuming rage. But a carefully controlled one, of course. That was the Drow way.  
  
At the age of 16 Esgiloth was trained in the ways of the assassin. And as even the most remote Orc knows, Drow assassins are the most dangerous kind. Oh, of course he didn't compare to Aedian, who was a mage, but as Esgiloth never hesitated to point out, magic is no good when you are eating cold steel.  
  
As his first assassination, Aedian killed his oh so glorious older brother. And a fine kill it was indeed. He had quite a reputation in Menzoberranzan for his two-weapon fighting style, and nothing could stand in his way when he had a rapier in one hand and a short sword in the other. It was rumored that he had stashed away somewhere a huge amount of the poisons that Dark Elves were fond of, gathered from all about Toril by the merchants of Menzoberranzan. But it didn't matter if he did, for no one doubted that even without resorting to poison, he was deadly.  
  
By the relatively young age of forty, Esgiloth had risen far within the Oblodra house. Customary to Drow tradition, he had gained his elevated status by simply assassinating those above him. Many, many Oblodra assassins had been found lying in their bedchambers in the morning, sometimes with great slashing marks across their chest, but more often with a pinprick of blood on their throats. For those he had to pursue, he was fond of outlining them in maroon Faerie Fire, then playing a small game of cat and mouse.  
  
He had become a machine. Emotionless, he killed at a whim. He was often singled out by the Matron Mother of the house Oblodra for disposing of someone she was not fond of. He paid homage to no man or god, except for the occasional lip tribute to Vhaeraun before a particularly hard assassination.  
  
But then came the worst possible job for a Drow. It required venturing onto the surface, for many many years. It required leaving his sought after position to the hovering vultures above. And most of all, it required killing the best swordsman Menzoberranzan had ever known.  
  
It required killing Drizzt Do'Urden.  
  
The Matron Mother had taken a yearning for the onyx figurine Guenhwyvar, and who better to claim the trophy but her prized assassin, Esgiloth?  
  
Of course, there were good things for him, too. He was allowed to keep Drizzt's famous weapons, Twinkle and Icingdeath. But that wasn't much of a consolation when he might return to find he had to start from the junk heap again.  
  
But he couldn't protest. To do so against the Matron Mother was sure death, death at the heads of her snake-headed whips. So it was with a heavy heart and a hard task that he departed from Menzoberranzan with his blades, poisons, and food on what was considered by many to be a suicide task. His family had already dug his grave.  
  
. . .  
  
Yup, that's it for now, I plan on getting the next one out soon (ot that anyone cares) blahdy blahdy blah. Since this is actually my DnD char, mebbe can get his stats out soon so players can fight him! That would be a cool campaign, eh? Of course, I wouldn't waste my time and energy doing that if no one wanted me too, but if I got an e-mail or sumthin' asking me to do that... 


End file.
